The invention and its relation to the prior art can best be understood in relation to the design of a conventional fishing rod and top-mounted casting reel combination. As shown in FIG. 1, a fishing rod 10 (partially shown) has a series of eyelets 12 used to guide a fishing line 14 from the reel 16 to the end of rod 10. The butt 18 of fishing rod 10 is equipped with fore and aft grips 20 and 22, respectively, to facilitate holding the rod and to provide good leverage. Rod 10 may also be equipped with a trigger 24 to help the user hold the rod.
Fishing rod holders generally serve to secure a fishing rod and reel combination in a position that allows the system to maintain the fishing line, the bait or lure and hook in the water without requiring the active participation of the user. Often, the fishing rod holder is designed to allow the user to quickly take over control of the rod and reel when a fish takes the hook. Despite these general goals, there are numerous types of fishing rods and reels, as well as many different fishing styles and applications. As a result, there are a wide variety of prior art fishing rod holders that employ various strategies to secure and stabilize the rod.
One type of rod holder is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,313,734 to Roberts et al. and FIG. 2 is an illustration of a prior art rod holder of this category. As can be seen, this type of rod holder 30 generally comprises a cylindrical holster 32 that is configured to receive the butt of the fishing rod equipped with a top-mounted casting reel and may be attached in any convenient manner to a boat. In this design, the aft portion 34 of holster 32 is cut away to allow the rod to be quickly tilted up and then withdrawn, if desired. To secure the rod, the fore portion 35 of holster 32 comprises a rotating locking ring 36, which can encircle the rod. When rotated to the open position, the rod may be inserted and withdrawn from holder 30. Prior art holder 30 also features scalloped areas 38 to provide clearance for the reel.
Although the holder shown in FIG. 2 functions adequately for its intended purpose, it suffers from a number of drawbacks. One feature that is often desirable for a rod holder is the ability to change the angle of the holder with respect to the water. For example, a variety of angles may be appropriate depending upon the type of trolling being performed. Also, it can be convenient to provide a substantially vertical orientation as a storage position.
Conventional rod holders that attempt to provide adjustable angle typically provide a pivoting axle adjacent holster 32. Often, the adjustment mechanism consists of a screw knob that is used to increase the friction between the pivoting members to the point where the rod holder will remain at the desired angle. As can be appreciated, constantly tightening and untightening the screw knob is cumbersome and inconvenient. Further, it is common for the joint to slip when load is placed on the rod. To help increase the friction and lock in a given angle, some designs employ a series of ribs along the faces of the joint. However, these do not provide a very robust locking feature and are prone to wear.
Another drawback associated with conventional rod holders having adjustable angle is that they are typically unable to assume a substantially vertical orientation. Specifically, the butt 18 of the rod does not clear most mounting locations, such as the boat gunnel, when the holder is positioned in a vertical orientation. This forces the user to remove the rod from the holder and store it in another location or else leave it in place and contend with the tip of the rod projecting from the side of the boat and the butt of the rod projecting into the working area of the boat.
Yet another drawback it that conventional rod holders rarely engage a given rod and reel combination optimally. The problem stems from the wide variety of rod and reel combinations that rod holders are expected to accommodate.
Preferably, the rod holder primarily engages the rod at two positions, at the fore and aft grip regions, as these are the areas of the rod that are designed to withstand load. Further, the rod holder should also support the reel to stabilize it in a top-oriented position and resist longitudinal movement of the rod and reel combination. Although supported, the reel should not receive the brunt of the loading forces transmitted from the rod holder to the rod, since the reel and its attachment to the road are not designed with such forces in mind. Thus, the rod and reel combination must fit prior art rod holders quite closely to achieve optimized interactions at these three areas.
Unfortunately, as one of skill in the art will appreciate, the size and placement of the reel can differ substantially, as can the diameter of the rod, the rod grips and the size and position or presence of the trigger. Given these variations, most rod and reel combinations will not fit a given rod holder in the optimal manner described above. Further, conventional rod holders generally are not designed to adjust to varying rod and reel combinations. As a result, prior art rod holders fail to secure and stabilize most rod and reel combinations in the best manner.
In practice, one of two deficiencies result. In the first case, the scalloped regions 38 of the rod holder do not provide adequate relief, preventing the rod from securely contacting the holster at either the fore or aft region, which causes an undesirable point load to be transmitted to the reel. Alternatively, the scalloped regions 38 provide too much clearance, leaving the reel unsupported so that the rod can rotate axially and be displaced longitudinally, generally providing a sloppy fit.
Accordingly, what has been needed is an adjustable rod holder that quickly and securely positions a rod at a desired angle. What has also been needed is a rod holder that is capable of accommodating a wide variety of rod and reel combinations, while engaging the rod at the main fore and aft grips and simultaneously supporting the reel. This invention satisfies these and other needs.